This invention pertains to fluid materials which exhibit substantial increases in flow resistance when exposed to a suitable magnetic field. Such fluids are sometimes called magnetorheological fluids because of the dramatic effect of the magnetic field on the rheological properties of the fluid.
Magnetorheological (MR) fluids are substances that exhibit an ability to change their flow characteristics by several orders of magnitude and on the order of milliseconds under the influence of an applied magnetic field. An analogous class of fluids are the electrorheological (ER) fluids which exhibit a like ability to change their flow or rheological characteristics under the influence of an applied electric field. In both instances, these induced rheological changes are completely reversible. The utility of these materials is that suitably configured electromechanical actuators which use magnetorheological or electrorheological fluids can act as a rapidly responding active interface between computer-based sensing or controls and a desired mechanical output. With respect to automotive applications, such materials are seen as a useful working media in shock absorbers, for controllable suspension systems, vibration dampers in controllable powertrain and engine mounts and in numerous electronically controlled force/torque transfer (clutch) devices.
MR fluids are noncolloidal suspensions of finely divided (typically one to 100 micron diameter) low coercivity, magnetizable solids such as iron, nickel, cobalt, and their magnetic alloys dispersed in a base carrier liquid such as a mineral oil, synthetic hydrocarbon, water, silicone oil, esterified fatty acid or other suitable organic liquid. MR fluids have an acceptably low viscosity in the absence of a magnetic field but display large increases in their dynamic yield stress when they are subjected to a magnetic field of, e.g., about one Tesla. At the present state of development, MR fluids appear to offer significant advantages over ER fluids, particularly for automotive applications, because the MR fluids are less sensitive to common contaminants found in such environments, and they display greater differences in rheological properties in the presence of a modest applied field.
Since MR fluids contain noncolloidal solid particles which are often seven to eight times more dense than the liquid phase in which they are suspended, suitable dispersions of the particles in the fluid phase must be prepared so that the particles do not settle appreciably upon standing nor do they irreversibly coagulate to form aggregates. Examples of suitable magnetorheological fluids are illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,644 issued Sep. 18, 1990, entitled xe2x80x9cMagnetically Controllable Couplings Containing Ferrofluidsxe2x80x9d; No. 4,992,190 issued Feb. 12, 1991, entitled xe2x80x9cFluid Responsive to a Magnetic Fieldxe2x80x9d; No. 5,167,850 issued Dec. 1, 1992, entitled xe2x80x9cFluid Responsive to a Magnetic Fieldxe2x80x9d; No. 5,354,488 issued Oct. 11, 1994, entitled xe2x80x9cFluid Responsive to a Magnetic Fieldxe2x80x9d; and No. 5,382,373 issued Jan. 17, 1995, entitled xe2x80x9cMagnetorheological Particles Based on Alloy Particlesxe2x80x9d.
As suggested in the above patents and elsewhere, a typical MR fluid in the absence of a magnetic field has a readily measurable viscosity that is a function of its vehicle and particle composition, particle size, the particle loading, temperature and the like. However, in the presence of an applied magnetic field, the suspended particles appear to align or cluster and the fluid drastically thickens or gels. Its effective viscosity then is very high and a larger force, termed a yield stress, is required to promote flow in the fluid.
Certain aspects of prior art MR fluids such as those described in the above-identified patents will illustrate the benefits and advantages of the subject invention. A first observation in characterizing MR fluids is that for any applied magnetic field (or equivalently for any given magnetic flux density), the magnetically induced yield stress increases with the solid particle volume fraction. This is the most obvious and most widely employed compositional variable used to increase the MR effect. This is illustrated in FIG. 1, which is a graph recording the yield stress in pounds per square inch of suspensions of pure iron microspheres dispersed in a polyalphaolefin liquid vehicle at increasing volume fractions. The strength of the magnetic field applied is 1.0 Tesla. It is seen that the yield stress increases gradually from about 5 psi at a volume fraction of iron microspheres of 0.1 to a value of about 18 psi at a volume fraction of 0.55. In order to double the yield stress from 5 psi at a volume fraction of 0.1, it is necessary to increase the volume fraction of microspheres to about 0.45. However, as the volume fraction of solid increases in the on-state, the viscosity in the off-state increases dramatically and much more rapidly as well. This is illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a semilog plot of viscosity in centipoise versus the volume fraction of the same suspension of iron microspheres. It is seen that a small increase in the volume fraction of microspheres results in a dramatic increase in the viscosity of the fluid in the off-state. Thus, while the yield stress may be doubled by increasing the volume fraction from 0.1 to 0.45, the viscosity increases from about 15 centipoise to over 200 centipoise. This means that the turn-up ratio (shear stress xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d divided by shear stress xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d) at 1.0 Tesla actually decreases by more than a factor of 10.
In terms of basic rheological properties, the turn-up ratio is defined as the ratio of the shear stress at a given flux density to the shear stress at zero flux density. At appreciable flux densities, for example of the order of 1.0 Tesla, the shear stress xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d is given by the yield stress, while in the off state, the shear stress is essentially the viscosity times the shear rate. With reference to FIG. 1, for a volume fraction of 0.55, at 1.0 Tesla the yield stress is 18 psi. This fluid has a viscosity of 2000 cP, which, if subjected to a shear rate of 1000 reciprocal seconds (as in a rheometer), gives an off-state shear stress of approximately 0.3 psi (where 1 cP=1.45xc3x9710xe2x88x927 lbf s/m2). Thus, the turn-up ratio at 1.0 Tesla is (18/0.3), or 60. However, in a device in which the shear rate is higher, e.g., 30,000 secondsxe2x88x921, the turn-up ratio is then only 2.0.
The observation that the on and off-states of MR fluids have been coupled in the sense that any attempt to maximize the on-state yield stress by increasing the solid volume fraction will carry a great penalty in turn-up ratio because the viscosity in the off-state will increase at the same time, as illustrated by the above example. This has been generally recognized in the prior art and has been stated explicitly in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,373 at column 3. For a given type of magnetizable solid, experience has identified no other variable such as fluid type, solid surface treatment, anti-settling agent or the like which has anything like the effect of volume fraction on the yield stress of the MR fluid. Therefore, it is necessary to find a means of decoupling the on-state yield stress and the off-state viscosity and their mutual dependence on solid volume fraction.
In accordance with the subject invention, this decoupling is accomplished by using a solid with a xe2x80x9cbimodalxe2x80x9d distribution of particle sizes instead of a monomodal distribution to minimize the viscosity at a constant volume fraction. By xe2x80x9cbimodalxe2x80x9d is meant that the population of solid ferromagnetic particles employed in the fluid possess two distinct maxima in their size or diameter and that the maxima differ as follows.
Preferably, the particles are spherical or generally spherical such as are produced by a decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl or atomization of molten metals or precursors of molten metals that may be reduced to the metals in the form of spherical metal particles. In accordance with the practice of the invention, such two different size populations of particles are selectedxe2x80x94a small diameter size and a large diameter size. The large diameter particle group will have a mean diameter size with a standard deviation no greater than about two-thirds of said mean size. Likewise, the smaller particle group will have a small mean diameter size with a standard deviation no greater than about two-thirds of that mean diameter value. Preferably, the small particles are at least one micron in diameter so that they are suspended and function as magnetorheological particles. The practical upper limit on the size is about 100 microns since particles of greater size usually are not spherical in configuration but tend to be agglomerations of other shapes. However, for the practice of the invention the mean diameter or most common size of the large particle group preferably is five to ten times the mean diameter or most common particle size in the small particle group. The weight ratio of the two groups shall be within 0.1 to 0.9. The composition of the large and small particle groups may be the same or different. Carbonyl iron particles are inexpensive. They typically have a spherical configuration and work well for both the small and large particle groups.
It has been found that the off-state viscosity of a given MR fluid formulation with a constant volume fraction of MR particles depends on the fraction of the small particles in the bimodal distribution. However, the magnetic characteristics (such as permeability) of the MR fluids do not depend on the particle size distribution, only on the volume fraction. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain a desired yield stress for an MR fluid based on the volume fraction of bimodal particle population, but the off-state viscosity can be reduced by employing a suitable fraction of the small particles.
For a wide range of MR fluid compositions, the tun-up ratio can be managed by selecting the proportions and relative sizes of the bimodal particle size materials used in the fluid. These properties are independent of the composition of the liquid or vehicle phase so long as the fluid is truly an MR fluid, that is, the solids are noncolloidal in nature and are simply suspended in the vehicle. The viscosity contribution and the yield stress contribution of the particles can be controlled within a wide range by controlling the respective fractions of the small particles and the large particles in the bimodal size distribution families. For example, in the case of the pure iron microspheres a significant improvement in turn-up ratio is realized with a bimodal formulation of 75% by volume large particles-25% small particles where the arithmetic mean diameter of the large particles is seven to eight times as large as the mean diameter of the small particles.
One embodiment of the invention includes an MR fluid of improved durability. The MR fluid is particularly useful in devices that subject the fluid to substantial centrifugal forces, such as large fan clutches. A particular embodiment includes a magnetorheological fluid including 10 to 14 wt % of a hydrocarbon-based liquid, 86 to 90 wt % of bimodal magnetizable particles, and 0.05 to 0.5 wt % fumed silica.
In another embodiment of the invention, the bimodal magnetizable particles consist essentially of a first group of particles having a first range of diameter sizes with a first mean diameter having a standard deviation no greater than about ⅔ of the value of the mean diameter and a second group of particles with a second range of diameter sizes and a second mean diameter having a standard deviation no greater than about ⅔ of the second mean diameter, such that the majority portion of the particles falls within the range of one to 100 microns, and the weight range of the first group to the second group ranges from about 0.1 to 0.9, and the ratio of the first mean diameter to the second mean diameter is 5 to 10.
In another embodiment of the invention, the particles include at least one of iron, nickel and cobalt.
In another embodiment of the invention, the particles include carbonyl iron particles having a mean diameter in the range of one to 10 microns.
In another embodiment of the invention, the first and second groups of particles are of the same composition.
In another embodiment of the invention, the hydrocarbon-based liquid includes a polyalphaolefin.
In another embodiment of the invention, the hydrocarbon-based liquid includes a homopolymer of 1-decene which is hydronated.
Another embodiment of the invention includes a magnetorheological fluid including 10 to 14 wt % of a polyalphaolefin liquid, 86 to 90 wt % of magnetizable particles, and 0.05 to 0.5 wt % fumed silica. The magnetizable particles include at least one of iron, nickel and cobalt-based materials. The particles may include carbonyl iron consisting essentially of a first group of particles having a first range of diameter sizes with a first mean diameter having a standard deviation no greater than about ⅔ of the value of the mean diameter and a second group of particles with a second range of diameter sizes and a second mean diameter having a standard deviation no greater than about ⅔ of the second mean diameter, such that the majority of all particle sizes falls within the range of one to 100 microns and the weight ratio of the first group to the second group is in the range of 0.1 to 0.9, and the ratio of the first mean diameter to the second mean diameter is 5 to 10.